Kanye West

* Kayne West said he was going to tweet his recording contracts since he apparently needs “every lawyer in the world to look at these.” Can all of us lawyers send him a bill if we review the agreements? [Hollywood Reporter]

* Joe Biden is purportedly assembling an army of lawyers for a possible post-election legal fight. [Guardian]

* A new lawsuit has been filed against Kushner Companies, the outfit owned by Jared Kushner’s family, over allegedly dangerous living conditions at apartment buildings owned by the company. [Hill]

* An OBGYN is being accused of fertility fraud after it was allegedly revealed that the doctor’s sperm, and not that of an anonymous donor, was used to create an embryo. [Fox News]

* William H. Gates, Sr., a name partner of K and L Gates, has passed away. He is also the father of billionaire Bill Gates, what a legacy! [American Lawyer]

* A judge has ruled that Kanye West will not appear on the presidential ballot in Virginia. Maybe Kanye had his attention on West Virginia anyways… [Hill]

* A former doctor has been convicted of attempted murder for purportedly trying to kill a lawyer who opposed the doctor in two lawsuits. [ABA Journal]

* A Loyola University law student is accused of torching his New Orleans apartment after a heated dispute with her landlord. [Times-Picuyane]

* A disbarred New York lawyer has been charged for allegedly stealing money meant for 9/11 first responders. [New York Law Journal]

* A New Jersey lawyer has been charged with fraudulently obtaining $9 million in COVID-19 relief money and using the funds to buy a mansion and other luxury items. [New Jersey Law Journal]

* The top lawyer for an online retailer has pleaded guilty to stealing around $6 million from his company and used the money to fund his lavish lifestyle. Lots of lawyers behaving badly in the Morning Docket today! [New York Daily News]

* A group of fireworks companies has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit involving New York’s COVID-19 restrictions. Guess the litigation didn’t start off with a “bang”… [New York Law Journal]

* President Trump has won a motion to temporarily delay the release of his tax records. [Fox News]

* A new lawsuit alleges that McDonald’s discriminates against black franchisees. [Reuters]

* A new global settlement plan has been advanced to dispose of claims accusers have against Harvey Weinstein. [Hollywood Reporter]

* A 105-year-old woman is leading a lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Massacre. [Guardian]

* Kanye West is suing to appear on the ballot for president in Wisconsin and Ohio. Maybe Kim K can put her law classes to good use… [Business Insider]

* Happy birthday, Your Honor! More than a thousand of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s fans signed up to plank on the steps of the Supreme Court for her 86th birthday on March 15. Do you love the RBG enough to plank for justice? [Washingtonian]

* Allison Jones Rushing, a Williams & Connolly litigation partner, was confirmed to the Fourth Circuit in a vote of 53-43. Rushing is now one of the youngest federal appeals judges to be appointed by President Trump. [National Law Journal]

* According to a new poll, more voters believe convicted felon and disbarred lawyer Michael Cohen than President Trump, and want Congress to “do more” to investigate Cohen’s “claims about President Trump’s unethical and illegal behavior.” [CNBC]

* According to the American Bar Association, there’s not much that can be done for students at Western State University College of Law. This is not welcome news for people who have yet to receive their loan disbursements. [InsideHigherEd]

* Remember Raj Rajaratnam, the former Galleon Group head who was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy way back in 2011? Thanks to the Second Circuit, he still has to pay a $93 million civil fine for insider trading. [Big Law Business]

* In case you missed it, Kanye West has filed suit against EMI because he’s contractually barred from retiring, and his attorneys from Quinn Emanuel say the contract “violated California public policy.” [THR, Esq. / Hollywood Reporter]

* “My album will never never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale … You can only get it on Tidal.” Uh-oh! Kanye West and music-streaming service Tidal are facing a proposed $5 million class-action lawsuit over the availability of the rapper’s album, The Life of Pablo, on other streaming services when it was supposed to be exclusive to Tidal. [Rolling Stone]

* Eighteen-year-old Marina Lonina stands accused of livestreaming her friend’s rape on Periscope, and faces charges of rape, sexual battery, and pandering sexual matter involving a minor. The prosecutor alleges the teen hoped the broadcast would stop the rape, but she “got caught up in the likes” instead. [The Cut / New York Magazine]

* Given that “Americans are less likely to support the court when it is portrayed as a political body — as it is during confirmation proceedings — and not a legal body,” it may not be wise for Chief Justice Roberts to enter the debate about nominee Judge Merrick Garland, especially since the SJC’s chair has already criticized him. [New York Times]

* Think twice before you hack a Biglaw firm’s computers, because it’ll cost you a pretty penny. A former IT employee who wreaked havoc upon Locke Lord’s computer network by disabling and deleting hundreds of user accounts was sentenced to more than nine years in prison and ordered to pay $1.69M in restitution. [Courthouse News Service]

* He’s biased, but Dr. Arthur E. Snyder, the president of Indiana Tech, says there is a resounding need for a “different kind of law school” in Indiana. He calls out other schools for growing too large and having to perform layoffs, and says Indiana Tech Law is dedicated to remaining small (likely because no one knows it exists). [News-Sentinel]

Ed. note: In honor of Presidents’ Day, Above the Law will not be publishing on Monday. We hope everyone is able to enjoy a nice, long weekend! See you online on Tuesday.

* What kind of constitution would the Rebels have written after overthrowing the Emperor? Let’s take this all the way: what pseudonym would Jar Jar use in writing the Galactic Federalist Papers? [Business of Law Blog]

* Did the recent “Madoff” miniseries really have to fixate so much on his Judaism? Sure, it was part of his identity, but didn’t it kind of cross over into Shylock territory? [St. Louis Jewish Light]

* The prosecution is starting to lay out the details in the case against Sunderland soccer player Adam Johnson for his relationship with a 15-year-old fan. [Screamer]

* Reflecting on Chief Judge Judith Kaye’s legacy of trial court reform. [Cityland]

* Judge Sylvania Woods would be rolling over in his grave if he knew about the child porn scandal going on at his namesake school. [Katz Justice]

* Weil Gotshal Chairman Barry Wolf better get used to being on the other side of the table — he’s subpoenaed to testify in a lawsuit over a condo dispute. [Dan Abrams]

* “An Administrative Law Fairy Tale.” [Library of Law and Liberty]

* This is what happens when an NYC lawyer hangs out with the Marines and Navy for four days. [U.S. Naval Institute]

* You think you’re a ruthless lawyer? You aren’t ruthless unless you’re Sun Tzu ruthless. [Law and Disorder]

* Here’s an optimistic take on the future of Biglaw. [CodeX]

* David Schwimmer playing the late attorney and father of a reality TV dynasty Robert Kardashian not doing it for you? Don’t worry, Yeezy’s got your back… literally. [People]